


Unfriend You

by PixelPrincessFluffy



Category: Ralph Breaks the Internet - Fandom, Wreck-It Ralph (Movies)
Genre: Anger, Angst, Angst and Feels, Betrayal, Family, Friendship Problems, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Major Spoilers for Both Movies, Post-Canon, Post-Movie: Ralph Breaks the Internet, Post-Ralph Breaks the Internet, Some Humor, Sort of a Deconstruction, Suicidal Thoughts, lampshading
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-09-28 10:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17180849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PixelPrincessFluffy/pseuds/PixelPrincessFluffy
Summary: He knew things would change, but he never thought they would turn out like this. Post-Ralph Breaks the Internet.





	1. A Broken Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first story on AO3, but it is not my first fanfic overall. Feedback is appreciated. Also I already posted this as a tag, but there will be major spoilers for Ralph Breaks the Internet. You have been warned.

Ralph sighed as he tapped his fingertips against the metal bench. He and Vanellope had agreed to meet up at Game Central Station that evening to play around in some of the arcade games and watch the “sunrise” together before the arcade opened, now that Slaughter Race was undergoing maintenance. But Ralph had been sitting in the same spot for what felt like an eternity now, and he hadn’t seen or even heard from the racer. The large wrecker sighed again, and when he looked up he noticed a security guard passing by.

“Uh, ‘scuse me, sir?” Ralph reached out to tap the guard on the shoulder. Without even a slight change of expression, the guard turned around to face him. “By any chance, you haven’t seen Vanellope around here, have you?”

“Not since you asked me an hour ago,” the guard responded. “But I would get back to your game if I were you, Mr. Wreck-It. The arcade should be opening soon.” With that, the guard turned away from Ralph and continued his patrolling. Dejected, Ralph slumped back onto the bench and tugged off his half of his treasured “You’re My Hero” cookie medal, which he eyed carefully. Surely Vanellope hadn’t forgotten about their meeting today, had she? Perhaps she had gotten lost? The Internet was a large place, after all, and it was easy to get confused while navigating it. Maybe he should call her again just to make sure…

Ralph shook his head.

_No, I can’t be clingy like last time. I learned my lesson._

He reached into his overalls pocket and pulled out his communicator. It had been about two hours since he last called her… it wouldn’t hurt to try again, would it?

Ralph opened the communicator and pressed the “CALL” button.

It vibrated once.

… Twice.

… Three times.

“ _Heya, it’s Vanellope von Schweetz here! Can’t talk right now, probably kicking some noob’s butt in a race. Leave a message and I’ll catch ya later!_ ”

The communicator beeped and Ralph cleared his throat.

“Hey Vanny, it’s Ralph… again. Hey, I know I already left a message a few hours ago, but I just wanted to check in and make sure you’re okay. So, uh… just call me back when you get this, okay?” Ralph closed the communicator and returned it to his pocket? Why wasn’t Vanellope returning any of his calls? Was she really that busy racing in Slaughter Race? Did she get hurt?

Had she totally forgotten about Ralph already?

No, that was impossible. They were the best of friends, they would never forget about each other no matter how far apart they were.

…. Right?

A bright light suddenly shined and nearly blinded Ralph, who winced and covered his face with his hand. He glanced up and noticed that the “sunrise” had started, and any remaining game characters who were wandering Game Central Station were now returning to their posts.

_She missed the sunrise again…_

A whistle caught Ralph’s attention, and he turned his head to see Felix peering out from behind the entrance to his game and motioning for Ralph to come back. Reluctantly, Ralph got up from his seat and slowly tread over to Felix, who took Ralph’s hand in his and led him back to the game. Although he tried not to make eye contact, Felix couldn’t help but take a quick glance at Ralph’s face, and he winced at the crestfallen look in Ralph’s eyes.

“Sorry, brother,” was all Felix managed to get out. Ralph said nothing as he continued to follow Felix. He glanced down at his medal again.

_Have you really forgotten all about me?_

 

…

 

“Hahaha! Beat you again, little bro!” the cheerful girl boasted as she pumped her fist into the air. “Taffyta Muttonfudge is unstoppable!” The girl continued to cheer as the younger boy in the seat next to her pouted and crossed his arms.

“Hmph. I would’ve won if I had played as Vanellope. Her teleporting is cool.” The girl shrugged.

“Eh, maybe next time you’ll win.” The boy shook his head.

“No way, Emily. I’m no good at this game without Vanellope, and she’s not here.” He pointed at the roster of racers on the screen. Sure enough, Vanellope was nowhere to be found. Emily tilted her head curiously. Where was Vanellope anyway? Back in their old town, Jackson would pick Vanellope every single time he and Emily played together, but here she was completely absent. Sure, the racers were picked at random each day and Emily was well-aware of that, but surely a racer couldn’t be unplayable for more than six months, right? And from what she had heard from her fellow gamer friends, Vanellope hadn’t appeared in this specific game for almost five years and nobody was able to figure out how to unlock her. Not even Mr. Litwack, the kindly owner of the arcade, knew how to fix the problem. Maybe Vanellope had a low appearance rate? Emily would have to look that up later.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard her brother shuffling out of his seat.

“Hey, um… you up for another round, Jackson?” The younger boy sighed.

“No thanks. I’m gonna go play Hero’s Duty now.” Emily reached out to Jackson as he scurried to the other side of the arcade.

“Wait, Jackson, come back! I’ll let you play as Taffyta this time!” The older girl slapped her forehead and let out a groan. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few more quarters, which she inserted in the game’s slot.

The racer selection screen appeared.

No sign of Vanellope anywhere once again.

_Might as well just go with Taffyta again._

Emily selected her character and readied herself for the race. She gave the empty seat next to her a forlorn glance before returning her attention to the screen.

_Please come back home, Vanellope. Jackson really misses you._

 

…

 

“You did so awesome today, Pinky!” Taffyta praised her shiny pink kart as she wheeled it away from the race track. “Hah, those losers can never catch up to us!” She gave her kart a friendly pat on the steering wheel, and it gave out a high-pitched honk. The other Sugar Rush racers were also wheeling away their karts, dejected that Taffyta had beaten them all in almost every single race that day. That Emily girl sure knew a thing or two about racing, and Taffyta was grateful for that. With Sugar Rush’s popularity declining in recent months, the saccharine children valued every single chance they could get to engage in a race. Taffyta especially appreciated the challenges that the occasional experienced player brought with them, and even after all these years, she loved to playfully rub it in their faces. The blonde racer stuck her tongue out at the forlorn racers as they passed by, letting out a few chuckles every now and then. After some time had passed, Taffyta noticed that one racer was still outside with their cart. Even from a distance, she could tell that this was Rancis Fluggerbutter, her long-time partner in crime. What the heck was he still doing out here at this hour?

Against her better judgment, Taffyta ran up to her friend, leaving her kart alone. The blonde boy was sitting on top of his kart, with his fingers tapping on the wheel and his gaze averted to the ground.

“Hey,” Rancis said softly, not looking up to meet Taffyta’s eyes.

“Why the long face, Rancis? Upset that I left you in the dust like twenty times again?” Rancis said nothing, just blinked a few times and let out a small sigh. Taffyta rolled her eyes and huffed. “Come on, you can’t be that salty about me beating you again, right?”

“Do you think she’s ever gonna come back?”

Well, this was certainly unusual for the egotistical racer.

Taffyta jumped onto the chocolate-coated kart and sat cross-legged next to Rancis. Here she could get a better look at his disheartened profile.

“C’mon, Rancis, you know what Uncle Ralph said. Vanellope’s in a new game now, having a good time with all those dark, creepy, edgy racers….” Taffyta would never admit it out loud, but she had missed the snarky princess these past few years after she left for that new Slaughter Race game. Then again, she figured it was a natural response when you haven’t heard from someone who you thought was your friend for several years.

Rancis spoke up again.

“I heard a kid talking after one of the races today… said that Sugar Rush wasn’t fun anymore without Vanellope.” Rancis turned to face Taffyta, and she noticed that there were tears in his eyes. “Do you think we’re gonna get unplugged soon?” The pink girl was quite surprised with how quiet and concerned Rancis was acting right now. And she had no idea why she suddenly felt so worried and caring towards him. Maybe it had something to do with her living with him as his sister for a short while with that fixer guy and that soldier lady. Or maybe over time she had grown to appreciate him always being by her side for so many years. Whatever the reason, Taffyta found herself awkwardly embracing the racer boy in an attempt to soothe him.

“I don’t know, Rancis. I really don’t know.”

An awkward silence surrounded the two.

“Do you think Vanellope left us because we bullied her for so long?”

Again, Taffyta wished she had an answer.

But she said nothing.

 

... 

 

“Ya really think now’s a good time?”

“Well, you gotta tell him sooner or later.”

“Yeah, but... I dunno, he’s just been so sad lately.”

“And he’s gonna stay that way unless you tell him to snap out of it!”

“Alright, alright… I’ll do it.”

Felix really didn’t want to do this. He couldn’t bring himself to hurt his friend like this, not with how depressed he had been acting lately. Felix had suspected for a while that something was wrong with Ralph when he stopped hosting parties with the Nicelanders and attending the book club with the other arcade characters, and he had a feeling it had something to do with Vanellope not coming by to visit anymore or even call Ralph seeing how he rarely mentioned her these past few years. But he just couldn’t tell Ralph, he couldn’t bear to break his heart like this.

But Calhoun was right. Ralph had to know. So Felix climbed up the ladder to the roof, and made his way toward Ralph, trying not to startle him or trip over one of the pillows that were scattered on the top of the roof. The bulky wrecker seemed to not even notice Felix coming over. Felix awkwardly cleared his throat, but Ralph still showed no signs of acknowledging him. 

“Hey, brother. So, uh…” How on earth was he supposed to start? “Mary made the most delicious cake for everyone! Mind joining us for a slice or two?”

No response.

_Better just get this over with._

“Look, Ralph, I’ve been getting worried about you lately, brother. You never talk to us anymore and you’re always so sad… and I think I know why.”

Ralph remained silent.

“See, the thing is I can tell you’re really worried about something and it’s making you so upset. But I think - and don’t take this the wrong way - you’re kind of, how do I put this…”

“What Felix is trying to say is that you need to let go of her already.” Felix turned around and was surprised to see Calhoun climbing up the ladder to join him and Ralph. At least he didn’t have to be the one to deliver the bad news. “Come on, Wreck-It, how long has it been since you last saw her? Five years, maybe?”

“Five years since we last saw each other in person.” Ralph finally spoke up. “We haven’t talked in at least three years.”

“Still!” Calhoun continued. “For all these years you’ve been moping around a and shutting yourself away like helpless kitten! Face it, Wreck-It, she’s not coming back. You need to just forget about her.” Ralph’s grip tightened on the edge of the roof as he tried to hold back his tears.

“How could I forget about my best friend just like that?” Ralph tried so hard not to scream. “We promised we would be the best of friends no matter how far apart we are. She wouldn’t just forget about me either, no way!”

“C’mon, Tammy,” Felix gently grabbed his wife’s hand. “Let’s give him some space, alright?”

“Fine, but I’m warning him, he’s just setting himself up for heartbreak.”

Ralph waited until the sound of clanging footsteps had stopped, signifying that Felix and Calhoun were gone. Ralph sighed and pulled out his half of the medal, just now noticing how incomplete it was without the other half. He was sure Vanellope was having the time of her life in Slaughter Race, and he was certainly happy for her. 

But would it really kill her to just call him once in a while, even if it was just to say hi?

The wrecker clung the medal to his heart and finally let his tears fall.

_Please come back to me Vanellope. Please let me know you’re okay._

 

…

 

Four months later, Sugar Rush was unplugged for good.

The racers should have seen it coming. With more advanced racing games being added to the arcade and Sugar Rush making less and less money every month, not to mention many players constantly complaining about Vanellope’s absence in this specific arcade, it was inevitable that Mr. Litwak would be removing the game at some point. But the little racers were still clinging onto that one thread of hope that they would be spared, that they could keep racing for at least a few more years or even months, that some retro game lover out there still cared about them.

But one fateful Saturday evening, after several continuous weeks of the game’s declining popularity, Mr. Litwak had made the difficult decision.

It was finally time to say goodbye to Sugar Rush.

With a heavy heart, Mr. Litwak unplugged the console and wheeled it into the back room of the arcade. Little did he know about the chaos that would ensue…

 

....

 

Once again, Game Central Station found itself packed with an assortment of chocolates, candies, and confectionary-themed children. The giant station had found itself growing increasingly crowded as more and more characters lost their games, but somehow there was still just barely enough room to fit Sugar Rush’s many residents. The sentient candies rushed up and down the station, desperately looking for a new place to stay.

The racers already knew where they were headed.

As if on cue, Felix and Calhoun were waiting at one of the entrances, calling out for the racers and trying to get their attention. Several of the racers noticed the short blue-capped man and the tall armored woman shouting their names and immediately scrambled over to them. At least they still had somewhere to call home. Once several of the young racers had reunited with Felix and Calhoun, who were now doing a headcount and making sure not a single racer was missing. They couldn’t afford to lose even one. As Felix was looking around for other racers, he felt a small hand tugging on his shirt sleeve. He turned around and found Rancis glancing at him with a forlorn look in his eyes. The peanut butter racer wiped a tear from his eye and inhaled sharply. It was clear he wanted to appear brave, but Felix saw right through his attempt. Felix scooped Rancis into his arms and stroked his back, trying to keep him calm.

_These poor kids, they shouldn’t have to lose their home again._

From a distance, Ralph tried to guide the rest of the Sugar Rush residents to other games and keep them organized so none of them would become trampled in all the chaos and confusion. He kept his movement to a minimum so as to not accidentally bump into or break any unsuspecting living sweets, but even then he occasionally found a candy corn or a piece of licorice bumping into his leg and letting out a quick apology before running off. Once Ralph had managed to direct some Sugar Rush characters to their new homes and some of the crowd had cleared, he noticed one lone racer standing near a wall. The child’s shoulders were heaving and she appeared to be sniffling. Ralph reached out to lend her a sympathetic hand.

“...Taffyta?”

The girl sniffled again.

“... Why did you let her go, Uncle Ralph?” Taken aback, Ralph leaned down to gently cup his large hand around Taffyta, who turned to face him. Her face was covered in tears and her mascara was running down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry…” was all Ralph could manage to say.

“WHY DID YOU LET HER GO!?” Taffyta repeated, louder this time. “If you hadn’t let Vanellope go off to that stupid dumb Slaughter Race, we would’ve still had a game!” She sobbed louder and rubbed some of the running mascara away from her eyes, not caring that it smeared all over her face. “Now we have no princess, no game, no races, no purpose…” Her voice cracked in between sobs, and she struggled to steady herself and keep her knees from buckling.

“Taffyta, I’m so sorry,” Ralph tried to console the strawberry racer. “I just wanted Vanellope to be happy-”

“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!” Taffyta suddenly screamed and ran over to Ralph, and pounded her fists against Ralph’s chest while crying loudly. No matter how hard she pounded and hit him, Ralph could just barely feel Taffyta’s tiny fists against his bulky frame. But seeing her in such a state of distress caused him more pain than any blow or injury he could’ve sustained. And for several painful minutes, he allowed Taffyta to let out all of her rage and grief on him, and she continued to bawl and slam her fists against him. “All your fault!” she kept yelling. “It’s all your fault!”

Finally, Taffyta’s punching began to slow down, and she slumped to the floor in exhaustion. Her sobs and screams had reduced to coughs and gasps as she tried to take in air. Once she had calmed herself down, Ralph carefully scooped her up in his hands and pulled her to his shoulder, careful not to crush the small girl. Taffyta started to cry again and she clinged tightly onto Ralph’s shirt. Ralph gently patted Taffyta’s head as she let out her cries.

“It’s okay, I’m here now,” he said softly. “You’ll be okay.”

 

…

 

“Okay, that’s twelve, thirteen, fourteen- Oh my land, where’s Taffyta?!” Felix gasped in shock as he dashed around the apartment building looking for the last little racer behind furniture, under tables, and even in shelves. He couldn’t afford to lose one child, not during a time like this. A sweat broke out on Felix’s forehead as he started to hyperventilate. He prayed that Taffyta was just playing a sick joke on him and was safe in the apartment and that she hadn’t gotten lost on the way… Running out of options, Felix ran out of the apartment and shouted Taffyta’s name as loud as he could. He just needed someone, anyone, to respond to his cries.

The sound of thumping footsteps caught Felix’s attention and halted his yelling. He sighed in relief when he saw Ralph emerging from the shadows with Taffyta safe on his shoulder.

“Oh thank heavens you found her!” Felix shouted. Ralph put a finger to his lips and pointed at Taffyta, who was sleeping soundly. Felix whispered an apology as Ralph slowly shifted Taffyta off of his shoulder and into his hand, careful not to wake her up. He handed her to Felix, who clung tightly onto his adopted daughter. “Poor girl,” he muttered as he stroked her hair. “These kids shouldn’t have to go through this, Ralph. Why did they have to lose their game again?”

“I wish I knew, Felix.” Ralph hesitated to answer. “I wish I knew.”

In reality, Ralph knew exactly why it happened.

Felix nodded in response and headed back to the apartment, balancing Taffyta in one arm as he reached for the doorknob. He looked over his shoulder to face Ralph.

“You comin’ in, brother?” Ralph shook his head.

“No, you go on ahead. I…” The wrecker tapped his fingers together nervously. “I need to be alone for a while.” Ralph trudged over to the side of the apartment building and climbed up the ladder as lightly as possible. Felix’s eyes followed him until he was out of sight, and he looked back at Taffyta who was still sleeping in his arm and now nuzzling into his shoulder. The blue-clad hero took one last look at the roof before heading back into the apartment and silently closing the door behind him.

If only he knew how to fix his brother’s broken heart.

 

…

 

Once again, Ralph found himself alone on the roof of the Niceland Apartment Building, with only his thoughts to keep him company. How could everything go so wrong? He was confident that Sugar Rush could survive without Vanellope despite her dedicated fans. After all, it had been able to last fifteen years without her before. So why would players be upset about her absence now?

Come to think of it, why didn’t they notice that she was gone in the first place? Was this the real reason she wanted to leave Sugar Rush? Did she still feel like she didn’t belong? Ralph wished he had all the answers to his questions, wished he knew how to make everything right again.

But one thing he did know was that he had to let Vanellope know what happened, whether she was coming back or not. Once again, he reached into the pocket of his overalls, pulled out his communicator and called the former Sugar Rush princess.

He prayed that Vanellope would finally answer after all these years.

The communicator vibrated once.

… Twice.

… Three times.

“ _Heya, it’s Vanellope von Schweetz here! Can’t talk right now, probably-_ ”

Ralph slammed the communicator closed, not bothering to listen to the rest of the message, and chucked it against the ground. The communicator broke in two with a surprisingly satisfying crack. Why wouldn’t she just take the time to answer him? It couldn’t have been that he was being clingy again, he hadn’t called her in at least a year. Was she really that busy in Slaughter Race? Maybe so, but she couldn’t possibly have had that much work to do as an NPC, especially during maintenance.

_Maybe she really did forget all about me._

Ralph noticed his half of the cookie medal sticking out of his shirt, and tears started to fill his eyes. He couldn’t bring himself to look at it anymore, not when it reminded him of someone who he thought was his best friend. He pulled the medal off of his neck and the ribbon snapped apart. With one tight squeeze, the cookie medal had dissolved into crumbs, and Ralph sobbed.

 

…

 

To everyone’s surprise, Fix-It Felix Jr. was the next game to go.

Mr. Litwak normally didn’t like to play favorites with his games. To him, every video game in the arcade was unique in its own way and had something amazing to offer to players. But he wouldn’t deny that Fix-It Felix Jr. held a special place in his heart. Maybe it was because it was one of the first games he had added to his arcade when it first opened, but whatever the reason Mr. Litwak had hoped that the day he would have to say goodbye to the little 8-bit game would never come. Sadly, business in the arcade was slow these days, even with the flashy modern games that had recently been installed, and Fix-It Felix Jr. was mostly ignored. Once in a while a group of young gamers who had introduced themselves as retro game enthusiasts would come by to spend an hour or so sampling all the older games that were left in the arcade, Fix-It Felix Jr. included. It admittedly did help bring in some extra revenue and Mr. Litwak greatly appreciated the support, but unfortunately the spare quarters of a few retro gamers were not enough to justify keeping a game in the arcade, especially with the costly repairs he struggled to afford.

Fix-It Felix Jr. just had to go.

He would’ve done anything to keep the game from being unplugged, even if it meant only one or two players would try it out every so often. But in Mr. Litwak’s mind, a few sacrifices had to be made in order to keep his business afloat. Arcades were a dying business now, and there were times when Mr. Litwak struggled to make ends meet. Besides, he couldn’t bring himself to imagine how disappointed all those kids would be if their favorite arcade was shut down and they weren’t able to play certain games at home.

He needed his arcade to survive.

And so, Mr. Litwak found himself mourning the loss of Fix-It Felix Jr. as he unplugged the game from the power strip. Maybe he would give it to those three young gamers as thanks for looking after Felix and Ralph and the others. He just hoped they wouldn’t be too mad at him for unplugging their game.

Mr. Litwak shook the thought out of his head and mentally smacked himself for being so sentimental. After all, it’s not like these characters were alive or anything.

 

…

 

From the roof of the apartment building, Ralph sat and watched as the world started to crumble around him. He could hear the horrified screams of the Nicelanders as they ran for safety and Felix trying to keep them calm. He could see the sorrowful face of Mr. Litwak as he gave his last farewell to the game. He could feel the air vibrate and pulse as the environment dissolved into nothingness.

And yet, he just sat and waited.

He would never admit this to Felix or anyone else, but Ralph had secretly been waiting for this day for a long time. Not even learning to appreciate his job and forming his own circle of friends were able to soothe the heartbreak he had been suffering for the past several years.

He wanted to end it all.

Ralph closed his eyes and waited. Waited for the void to consume him and put him out of his misery. Waited for his years of suffering to be put to an end. Waited for his suffering to finally be over. Ralph took several deep breaths as he focused, focused on the void about to take him instead of Felix desperately calling out his name. He knew Felix wanted to save him - that was what good guys did, after all.

But Ralph didn’t want to be saved.

_Thanks for everything, guys. But I have to go now._

That was Ralph’s last thought as he felt a strong force pulling him away.

 

....

 

Unusually, Game Central Station was barren and quiet. The only sounds that could be heard within the giant hall were the shuffling footsteps of a few scattered game characters who were just passing by. They had no reason to be here today. They had no reason to go anywhere else. Not when their games could be unplugged at any minute and they would just have to leave again and look for a new place to stay. Surge Protector was the only one who remained in the station. With tensions running high ever since Fix-It Felix Jr. was unplugged, somebody had to maintain security around the place, even if visitors rarely came by anymore.

And that was exactly what Surge Protector thought as he heard the sound of a glitch behind him, causing him to jump in the air and shriek. Once he calmed down, he noticed the glitch had materialized into a young girl.

“Keep your pants on, Surge, it’s only me,” Vanellope quipped before strolling off to the center of the station. Surge was utterly confused. Vanellope’s visits had been less and less frequent until she stopped visiting altogether years ago. So why was she showing up now? Oh well, it wasn’t his business. He just had to keep the station safe from intruders.

Vanellope skipped and dashed around the station, looking for a familiar face. To her surprise, nobody she recognized was anywhere in the station? Maybe the were planning a big surprise party for her? But then again, she didn’t let anybody know that she was coming over today. Slaughter Race had been pretty demanding lately and she needed to get away for awhile, she didn’t even have the chance to tell Shank about her impromptu trip. Vanellope felt guilty for not telling her best friend that she was leaving, but she assumed Shank wouldn’t mind. After all, it’s not like she would be gone for very long, and she was sure Shank would understand.

Vanellope had felt like she had been walking around in circles, and she still couldn’t find anybody she recognized. Where could everyone be? And to top it all off, she had the feeling somebody was watching her…

“YOU!” a familiar voice broke the uncomfortable silence. Vanellope jerked around and what she saw shocked her. Near one of the game entrances, a familiar figure stood pointing directly at Vanellope. Despite the scowl on her face, Vanellope was so glad to finally find an old friend.

“Taffyta, how ya been! Sorry I couldn’t get here earlier, traffic at the Internet was ca-razy, lemme tell ya!” The dark-haired racer ran over to give her old friend a hug, but Taffyta angrily slapped her hands away.

“Don’t touch me,” Taffyta snarled. Vanellope rubbed her stinging hands together as she gave Taffyta a puzzled look. She had never seen Taffyta this angry before, not even that one time when Vanellope beat her in every single race for three days straight.

“Geez, Taffyta, who shoved a lollipop up your butt? And here I thought you’d be happy to see lil’ old me again!” The former princess chuckled happily, but her laugh quickly faded when she realized Taffyta wasn’t laughing along with her. Instead, she was breathing quite heavily and it looked like she was on the verge of tears. 

“You think you can just disappear for almost ten freaking years without even telling us you were leaving!?” Taffyta screamed. “Do you still hate us or something, Vanellope? Did we mean nothing to you after all this time?!” Vanellope backed up slowly, worried about what would happen if she stayed too close to Taffyta during her rage. Had her absence really been hurting Taffyta this much?

“N-no! That wasn’t it at all!” Vanellope tried to reassure her former racing comrade. “I just needed some more excitement in my life, that’s all!” Taffyta’s brows furrowed in disgust.

“So that’s what it was, huh? So the glitch finally got to race just like she wanted and it still wasn’t good enough for her? Well guess what? Thanks to you, we don’t have a princess or a game anymore!” Taffyta angrily pointed to the entrance that used to lead to Sugar Rush, and Vanellope gasped in horror. Had she really been gone that long? Why didn’t anyone tell her about what happened? Was Sugar Rush really unplugged because of her?

“I…” Vanellope shamefully lowered her head. “I didn’t think it would be that big a deal if I was gone.”

“‘Didn’t think it was that big a deal,’ huh?” The pink-clad racer snidely questioned. “That’s so like you, Vanellope.” Vanellope’s head jerked back up.

“Excuse me?” Taffyta took a few steps forward and stared directly into the other racer’s eyes.

“Think about it,” she started calmly. “It’s just like the last time Sugar Rush was unplugged nine years ago. Nine years and a day before you left us,” Taffyta added bitterly. “Why were we unplugged in the first place?” She paused, as if expecting an answer.

“Because the steering wheel broke,” Vanellope answered. “But that’s why me and Ralph went to the Internet in the first place-”

“Ah-ah-ah, let me finish,” Taffyta interrupted as she wagged a finger in Vanellope's face. “And how was the steering wheel broken? Oh, that’s right! Because a certain careless racer just couldn’t help but go off the track and interrupt the game while someone was playing it and make her think the game was glitching out!!” The blonde girl became increasingly irritated as she ranted, and her eyes started to water.

“Hey hey, now, Ralph was the one who made that bonus track in the first place!” Vanellope attempted to defend herself. “He was only trying to make the game more fun and exciting!” Taffyta ignored her and continued her rant.

“You think you can just do whatever you want and go wherever you want cuz things aren’t exactly the way you want them to be? And you expect everyone to be okay with your stupid choices just because you’re an adorable princess? Well let me tell you something, 'Your Majesty,'” Taffyta mockingly curtseyed as she paused for a breath. “We needed you. The players needed you. And Ralph needed you. But now we don’t have a game anymore just because you were too good for us and would rather mess around in some dumb gory racing game with no rules or order!”

“You didn’t need me for the first fifteen years we were plugged in!” Vanellope finally spoke up. “And for the record, Slaughter Race happens to be the coolest racing game ever! I could just get Shank to add your code and you could race as much as you’d like!”

“THAT’S NOT THE POINT!!!” Taffyta screeched and smashed her fist against Vanellope’s cheek, knocking her to the ground. Vanellope couldn’t find the strength to pick herself back up, she was simply too stunned to move. All she could do was lay there as Taffyta dealt all her rage onto her. “You may have thought that you were too cool for Sugar Rush, but we loved it! It was our home, it was where we belonged! The other racing games won’t even let us be NPCs because we’re ‘too cute!’ Consider yourself lucky, because you at least have a game to drive wild and free and do what you were programmed to do!” Vanellope had no response. Nothing she could say at the moment would calm Taffyta down. She heard Taffyta start to walk away.

“You may not be a glitch anymore, Vanellope von Schweetz, but you still ruined our game. For us, and for the players who adored us. I hope you’re happy with yourself.” She broke into a run, and before Vanellope knew it, Taffyta was gone.

She had no idea how to process everything she just heard. How could she have known that her leaving would create such a big mess. All she wanted to do was race, that didn’t seem like a pretty bad dream to her. Okay, maybe she should’ve at least told the other Sugar Rush racers that she would be leaving for good, but the thrill of joining Slaughter Race had gotten a little to her head. But she was just one of fifteen racers, right? She wasn’t that special, or so she thought. She couldn’t possibly have been that important to Sugar Rush…

After what felt like hours, Vanellope at last found the strength to pick herself up from the ground. She pressed her hand against her reddened cheek and hissed when she felt the pain. Who knew Taffyta could pack such a punch? Once she was up, Vanellope noticed that Taffyta was still in Grand Central Station and appeared to be crying in the arms of two figures. Vanellope dashed over to get a closer look, but skidded to a halt as soon as she saw who they were.

Fix-It Felix Jr. and Sergeant Calhoun.

For a while, none of them said anything. Vanellope could just stand and watch their faces: the concerned frown of Felix, the disapproving gaze of Calhoun, and the disgusted scowl of Taffyta. She had a feeling that they all had a million questions for her: about why she left, about Slaughter Race, about why she hadn’t visited in so many years.  
But Vanellope had one question on her mind.

 

 

“Where’s Ralph?”


	2. A Broken Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a hard time figuring out how to continue this, but now I have it all planned out.
> 
> I also decided to make this story three parts instead of two, maybe I'll make it four.
> 
> WARNING: You may need tissues.

“Where’s Ralph?”

For a while, nobody answered. Taffyta, Felix, and Calhoun all kept their gazes on Vanellope, who became increasingly worried. “Uh, guys? Is Ralph okay?”

“Why would _you_ care?” Taffyta spat. “Uncle Ralph’s been worried sick over you for years and now you’re starting to care about him?” Felix quickly grabbed Taffyta’s hands in his.

“Now sweetie, I know you’re upset, but let’s not be so rude to our guest, okay?” The blue-clad man attempted to calm his adopted daughter down when he heard Calhoun suddenly speak up.

“No, kid’s got a point.” Felix looked up and saw his beloved wife was now crouching down to Vanellope’s level, and while he couldn’t see her face he could tell that Calhoun was not in a pleasant mood.

And Felix knew first-hand from watching Calhoun nearly blast Gene out of the apartment for making one too many snide remarks about Ralph that an angry Calhoun was a sign to run away. Fast.

“Do you have any how much trouble you caused us, you saccharine pipsqueak?” Calhoun started. Vanellope backed up a few steps and winced at the insult. “For five years you haven’t bothered to show up, let alone give him a freakin’ call, and now you think you can just waltz on in here and act like nothing’s changed? What, did ya leave your sense of dignity behind when you ditched everyone for that Slaughter Race?”

“Tammy, please…” Felix started before Vanellope cut him off.

“It wasn’t my fault! Slaughter Race was so busy and there were way too many players trying to steal Shank’s car and-”

“Ha! See?” Taffyta interrupted and pointed at Vanellope. “There she goes again! All she does is blame others for every single thing she does!”

“Taffyta, please calm down now…” Felix grabbed onto Taffyta’s shoulders in an attempt to prevent the pink racer from lunging at Vanellope.

“Poor guy’s been going out of his way to make sure you haven’t gotten smash by a monster truck or eaten by a shark, and you couldn’t even be bothered to let him know you’re still in one piece?” Calhoun continued. “Some friend you are.”

“Hey, I could just respawn if that ever did happen!” Vanellope tried to defend herself. “Which it never did, of course, because Shank says I’m the best racer in the whole darn game. Besides, she’s been looking out for me this whole time.”

“You mean just like how Ralph looked out for you for over six years?” Calhoun questioned. Vanellope shuffled her feet nervously.

“Well, yeah, I guess… But I don’t need a big strong man to solve all of my problems for me!”

“ _The hell does that have to do with anything!?_ ” Calhoun screamed, on the verge of losing her patience. Felix yelped and covered his eyes, worried about any oncoming fights that would ensue between Calhoun and Vanellope. But the fight never happened, for a new voice had suddenly caught everyone’s attention.

“Hey, what’s all the commotion, guys?”

Vanellope recognized that voice all too well.

Before Vanellope could react, Taffyta squeaked out her friend’s name and dashed over to Ralph, wrapping her tiny arms around his thick leg in an embrace. The larger man awkwardly leaned forward and gave the pink-clad racer an affectionate tap on the head with his giant finger. Vanellope was utterly confused. Since when had Ralph and Taffyta gotten so close? But that didn’t matter now, and Vanellope quickly saw this as an opportunity to climb on top of Ralph and cover his eyes with her small hands.

“Guess who?” Vanellope asked jokingly. She had expected her friend to immediately recognize her and swoop her into a tight hug, babbling about how much he missed her. Instead, Ralph just stood up straight and remained still for a short while before shaking his head rapidly. Vanellope lost her balance and fell to the ground with a thud. Confused, Vanellope picked herself back up and looked at her friend quizzically. “C’mon, big guy, it’s me! Your best pal for life?” Vanellope nudged her arm against Ralph’s leg, hoping to get a response. Ralph gave no response and simply looked at Felix.

“Everything’s okay here, Ralph. We were just helping out our, uh… our guest.” Ralph nodded and yawned.

“Well, I’m going back to sleep. See you guys later.” As Ralph started to walk through the game entrance, Vanellope dashed after him and ran in front of him with her arms outstretched.

“Hey, Ralph, quit pulling my leg. You do remember me, right?” Ralph tilted his head to the side.

“Do I know you or something?”

And with those few words, Vanellope felt her heart sink in her chest.

“You… really don’t remember me?” Irritated, Ralph sighed loudly.

“Look, kid, you’re probably confusing me for someone else.” He walked past the smaller racer and pushed her to the side. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some shut-eye.”

For a while, Vanellope just stood there, absolutely baffled and concerned. Ralph couldn’t have forgotten her that easily, right? After all, they were supposed to be best friends even though they had different dreams, right? And maybe she had some trouble keeping in touch, but a few missed calls surely couldn’t have been enough to ruin their friendship… right?

_Is Ralph angry at me because I haven’t called him in a while?_

With that, Vanellope got an idea.

She managed to catch up with Ralph, who hadn’t gone too far and was now moving a large boulder away from the entrance of a cave, and she delightedly tugged on the leg of his overalls. Ralph looked down, and his brow furrowed when he saw who it was.

“Why can’t you just leave me alone already?”

“Cuz I have a big surprise for you! Well… more of a little surprise, but it’s the thought that counts!” Without giving Ralph any time to react, Vanellope reached into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out her half of the cookie medal. “Ta-da! I’ve kept it all these years! Pretty cool, huh?” Ralph carefully took the cookie medal with his thumb and index finger and examined it.

“It’s a piece of junk.”  


As Ralph carelessly tossed the medal back to Vanellope, who just barely caught it before it could hit the ground and shatter, Vanellope’s heart sunk even lower.

“Ralph…” The young racer started to sniffle. “How could you say that? I made this medal just for you! After we became best friends…” Ralph, skeptical about Vanellope’s words, narrowed his eyes at her.

“You made me half a medal?”

“No, I made you a whole one! Well, at least it was a whole medal before I-”

“Broke it?”

Vanellope couldn’t answer. But Ralph already knew what the answer was.

“I see. Guess I’m not the only one around here who wrecks things.” Vanellope was completely taken aback at how cold Ralph was acting towards her. She could’ve sworn she was about to glitch out like never before, but she was determined to bring her friend to her senses. “Look, I’m gonna go sleep now. And I’d like to be left alone.”

“Wait!” Vanellope called out as Ralph was about to enter the cave! “I gave you the other half! Like a friendship necklace! I know you still have it!” With that, Vanellope lept onto Ralph’s towering frame and frantically searched his shirt and overalls, all while Ralph was struggling to maintain his balance as Vanellope searched him.

“Agh- Get off of me!” Ralph yelped as he plucked the tiny girl off his body, though in that moment he had underestimated his own strength, and Vanellope was sent flying into the ground. Vanellope groaned in pain as she struggled to pick herself back up. She tried to speak, but couldn’t find anything to say. She was in absolute shock over how Ralph was currently acting. Ralph, on the other hand, wasn’t quite finished with her. “I don’t know who you are, but my _god_ , you’re so annoying! And I thought _I_ had no sense of personal space!” The wrecker huffed and finally went into his cave. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sleep. Don’t bother me again.” Before Vanellope could get a word out, Ralph had rolled the boulder in front of the cave’s entrance, completely sealing it.

Vanellope couldn’t believe what had just happened. Ralph, who was supposed to be her best friend even though they were far apart, had not only acted cold and uncaring towards her but had acted as if he never met her. The young girl’s breath hitched, and she started to sob uncontrollably. Her legs felt numb and she could barely stand, and she felt her entire body glitching out, sending shivers down her spine.

_How could you do this to me, Ralph? I thought you were supposed to be my hero…_

The racer yelped and jerked her body around as she felt a hand land on her shoulder. Felix had apparently caught up to her, with Calhoun and Taffyta standing a distance away. She had no idea how long they had been standing there, but Felix’s face showed signs of worry and sympathy, and he carefully embraced her, trying to slow down her sobbing and glitching.

“There, there, Vanellope. This wasn’t your fault.” Although Vanellope didn’t hear it through her sobs, Taffyta had muttered a “Yes it was,” causing Felix to shoot her an unusually firm glance before returning his attention to Vanellope. “I know it’s hard, but please try not to think ill of Ralph. He hasn’t really been the same since…” Felix gulped hard, struggling to get the words out.

“...since his amnesia.”


End file.
